Validity and Reliability

Validity

Validity is often the most important issue in any psychological research. There are two broad categories of validity, internal validity and external validity. The best research will be high in every type of validity, although this is often difficult to achieve in practice, leading some to suggest that psychology is not scientific.

Internal Validity – The extent to which we can be sure that changes in the DV are caused by changes in the IV and nothing else.

External Validity – The extent to which findings of research can be generalised to other situations, people or times in history.

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Types of Validity

Concurrent Validity – The extent to which scores recorded on a scale are matched by scores on an equivalent, well respected scale.

Content Validity – The extent to which a scale measures all aspects of the characteristic it is designed to measure.

Construct Validity – The extent to which a scale measures only the characteristic it is designed to measure.

Ecological Validity– The extent to which findings of research can be generalised to real life.

Population Validity – The extent to which findings of research can be generalised to other people.

Cultural Validity – The extent to which findings of research can be generalised to other cultures.

Temperal Validity– The extent to which findings of research can be generalised to other eras in history.